Safely transporting nearly 9,000 students every school day

Transportation Department News

Overview

"It is the mission of the San Diego Unified School District Transportation Department to provide safe, reliable and cost-effective transportation services with students as our focus”

The Transportation Services department provides school bus transportation for students in VEEP/Magnet, Special Education, non-public programs and field trips. The fleet is composed of more than 400 District-owned buses. The department focuses on the school bus as a true extension of the classroom. Because SDUSD transports students out of their home school boundaries based on program, students attending their residence school, in most cases, do not qualify. To see if your child qualifies for transportation, start with Enrollment Options. Or if your child will be requiring special education services, contact the Special Education office to get started.

For those who do qualify for transportation, San Diego Unified has employed a parent-pay system for transportation since 2011. Students in exempt programs do not have to pay the fee. For more details, go to the Fee for Transportation page.

Safety of our passengers and staff are paramount. Effective operation and maintenance is key to ensuring safety. Transportation Services conducts new hire and ongoing renewal training for staff, pursuant to state and federal guidelines. All vehicles must be maintained according to California Highway Patrol regulations and inspection criteria, and must meet all requirements under the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.

Drivers must be fingerprinted and tested for drugs/alcohol prior to employment. Employed drivers are randomly tested for drugs and alcohol. All school bus drivers must hold a Commercial Driver’s License, Class B with a Passenger endorsement as well as an “S” endorsement as required for school bus drivers in the United States. All California school bus drivers must hold a valid School Bus Driver Certificate and meet federal and state physical standards requirements.